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Borg
The Borg are a fictional alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg are cybernetic organisms, linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge of other alien species to the Collective through the process of "assimilation": forcibly transforming individual beings into "drones" by injecting nanoprobes into their bodies and surgically augmenting them with cybernetic components. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection". Aside from being recurring antagonists in the Next Generation television series, they are depicted as the main threat in the film Star Trek: First Contact. In addition, they played major roles in the Voyager series and serve as the way home to the Alpha Quadrant for the isolated Federation starship USS Voyager. The first encounter between humans and the Borg is depicted in the 2nd season of the series Enterprise in the episode "Regeneration" in which the phrase "you will be assimilated; resistance is futile" is heard by the crew of the Enterprise for the first time. The Borg are under one ruler the Borg queen. The Borg Star Trek race A Borg insignium, designed by Rick Sternbach (first appeared in the episode Q Who)1 Information Base of operations Delta Quadrant Leader The Borg are one single mind which is sometimes represented by the Borg Queen The Borg have become a symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against which "resistance is futile". Contents Depiction The Borg are cyborgs, having outward appearances showing both mechanical and biological body parts. Individual Borg are referred to as drones and move in a robotic, purposeful style ignoring most of their environment, including beings they do not consider an immediate threat. Borg commonly have one eye replaced with a sophisticated ocular implant. Borg usually have one arm replaced with a prosthesis, bearing one of a variety of multipurpose tools in place of a humanoid hand. Since different drones have different roles, the arm may be specialized for myriad purposes such as medical devices, scanners, and weapons. Borg have flat, white skin, giving them an almost zombie-like appearance. Some Borg have been shown to be far stronger than humans; able to easily overpower most humans and similar species. Typical Borg have never been seen to run, instead moving in a deliberate fashion, never retreating. Borg are highly resistant to energy-based weapons, having personal shielding which instantly adapts to it. In various episodes, phasers and other energy weapons tend to quickly become ineffective as the Borg are able to adapt to specific frequencies once a ship or an individual drone is struck down. Later attempts to modulate phaser and other weapon frequencies have had limited success. Borg shields have, however, proven to be ineffective protection against projectile or melee weapons, but this could prove problematic, given the fact of space travel, specifically puncturing the hull with an errant shot. Borg possess a "cortical node" which controls other implanted cybernetic devices within a Borg's body, and is most often implanted in the forehead above the retained organic eye. If the cortical node fails, the Borg eventually dies. Successful replacement of the node can be carried out on a Borg vessel. Borg Collective An occupied Borg "alcove" prop on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum Borg civilization is based on a hive or group mind known as the Collective. Each Borg drone is linked to the collective by a sophisticated subspace network that ensures each member is given constant supervision and guidance. The mental energy of the group consciousness can help an injured or damaged drone heal or regenerate damaged body parts or technology. The collective consciousness not only gives them the ability to "share the same thoughts", but also to adapt with great speed to tactics used against them.4 Drones in the Collective are never seen speaking, but a collective "voice" is sometimes transmitted to ships. "Resistance is futile" Individual Borg rarely speak, though they do send a collective audio message to their targets, stating that "resistance is futile", generally followed by a declaration that the target in question will be assimilated and its "biological and technological distinctiveness" will be added to their own. The exact phrasing varies and evolves over the various series episodes and film. The complete phrase used in Star Trek: First Contact is: “ We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.” Nanoprobes Nanoprobes are microscopic machines that inhabit a Borg's body, bloodstream, and many cybernetic implants. The probes perform the function of maintaining the Borg cybernetic systems, as well as repairing damage to the organic parts of a Borg. They generate new technology inside a Borg when needed, as well as protecting them from many forms of disease. Borg nanoprobes, each about the size of a human red blood cell, travel through the victim's bloodstream and latch on to individual cells. The nanoprobes rewrite the cellular DNA, altering the victim's biochemistry, and eventually form larger, more complicated structures and networks within the body such as electrical pathways, processing and data-storage nodes, and ultimately prosthetic devices that spring forth from the skin. In "Mortal Coil", Seven of Nine states that the Borg assimilated the nanoprobe technology from "Species 149". In addition, the nanoprobes work to maintain and repair their host's mechanical and biological components on a microscopic level, allowing regenerative capabilities. Though used by the Borg to exert control over another being, reprogrammed nanoprobes were used by the crew of the starship Voyager in many instances as medical aids. The capability of nanoprobes to absorb improved technologies they find into the Borg collective is shown in the Voyager episode "Drone", where Seven of Nine's nanoprobes are fused with the Doctor's mobile emitter which uses technology from the 29th century, creating a 29th-century drone existing outside the Collective, with capabilities far surpassing that of the 24th-century drones. The Borg do not try to immediately assimilate any being with which they come to contact; in fact, Borg drones tend to completely ignore individuals that are identified as too weak to be an imminent threat or too inferior to be worth assimilating. Captain Picard and his team walk safely past a group of Borg drones in a scene from the film Star Trek: First Contact while the drones fulfill a programmed mission. In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Mortal Coil", Seven of Nine told Neelix that the Kazon were "unworthy" of assimilation and would only serve to detract from the Borg's quest for perceived perfection. Travel The Borg are a spacefaring race, and their primary interstellar transport is known as a "Borg Cube" due to its shape. A cube was first seen in the Next Generation episode "Q Who?" in 2365. Common capabilities of cubes include high speed warp and transwarp drives, self-regeneration and multiple-redundant systems, adaptability in combat, and various energy weapons as well as tractor beams and cutting beams. Additionally, different types and size of Cubes have been observed as well as Borg Spheres and some smaller craft. As with most other Star Trek races, the Borg also have transporter capability. Assimilation Assimilation is the process by which the Borg integrate beings, cultures, and technology into the Collective. "You will be assimilated" is one of the few on-screen phrases employed by the Borg when communicating with other species. The Borg are portrayed as having found and assimilated thousands of species and billions to trillions of individual life-forms throughout the galaxy. The Borg designate each species with a number assigned to them upon first contact; humanity being 'Species 5618'. When first introduced, the Borg are said to be more interested in assimilating technology than people, roaming the universe as single-minded marauders that have assimilated starships, planets, and entire societies to collect new technology. They are discriminating in this area, finding certain races, for example the Kazon, to be technologically inferior and not worthy of assimilation. A Borg infant found aboard a Borg Cube in "Q Who?" shows that the Borg will even assimilate children. The Borg then place the assimilated children into maturation chambers to quickly and fully grow them into mature drones. Patrick Stewart as Locutus, the assimilated Jean-Luc Picard In their second appearance, "The Best of Both Worlds", they capture and assimilate Captain Jean-Luc Picard into the Collective, creating Locutus of Borg (meaning "he who has spoken", in Latin). The method of assimilating individual life-forms into the Collective has been represented differently over time. When we see the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation, assimilation is through abduction and then surgical procedure. In Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Voyager, assimilation is through injection of nanoprobes into an individual's bloodstream via a pair of tubules that spring forth from a drone's hand. Assimilation by tubules is depicted on-screen as being a fast-acting process, with the victim's skin pigmentation turning gray and mottled with visible dark tracks forming within moments of contact. After assimilation, a drone's race and gender become "irrelevant". After initial assimilation through injection, Borg are surgically fitted with cybernetic devices. In Star Trek: First Contact an assimilated crew member is shown to have a forearm and an eye physically removed and replaced with cybernetic implants. The Borg also assimilate, interface, and reconfigure technology using these tubules and nanoprobes. However, in Q Who? we see a Borg apparently trying to assimilate, probe or reconfigure a control panel in engineering using an energy interface instead of nanoprobes. Some species, for various stated reasons, are able to resist assimilation by nanoprobe. Species 8472 is the only race shown to be capable of completely rejecting assimilation attempts. Other species, such as the Hirogen, have demonstrated resistance to assimilation as well as Dr Phlox, who was able to partially resist the assimilation process in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Regeneration".